Lucy and the Turtle go Laning

It was a gorgeous Sunday sunny evening and I had been at work all day. Steve was away and so I thought I'd just head out and do a little loop on my own, with the turtle for company of course....

Me and the turtle having a chat about the route ahead

There are some easy lanes just close to home and I planned a little route around the villages of Greysouthen, Eaglesfield, Dean and out to Loweswater to head over a couple of my favourtie fell roads.

My first lane was a track that runs between Greysouthen and Eaglesfield - I forgot about the one the runs past the sewerage works!! Its a straightforward lane to start off with and links pretty much up with the lane that heads to Dean. This is a lovely lane and is pretty dry at the moment. There is normally a big muddy puddle halfway along.....it will be back soon I am sure. A farmer I guess has cut back some of the vegetation on this lane, which is very nice of them, making it a bit easier to ride!!

Next it was out on the roads towards Mockerkin and down into Loweswater for a ride up Mosser Fell Road. I was a bit unsure as to whether I should do this on my own as there is a tricky section at the start. But I thought what the hell - what could possibly go wrong??!! And I have learnt to pick the bike up on my own....sort of...unless it is stuck in the undergrowth and I drop it again :-)

I made it fine up the first rocky section and then got a bit of a wobble on the next section. I have realised one thing I am doing wrong. When the terrain gets a bit technical it is my natural instinct to lower my weight as if to sit down again. Whilst doing this it means my hands move back and I end up putting on more throttle....which well actually doesn't help!!

Anyway after a few bumps about I survived and me and the turtle stopped to admire the view......

The view from Mosser Fell looking back over Loweswater

 

I had a lovely ride up the rest of the fell road and was treated to seeing a fox slinking across the track in the evening sun.  The rest of the riding along Mosser Fell Road is pretty easy enjoyable riding. It drops steeply down into the little hamlet of Mosser itself and then you take a right onto High Bank fell road which is 3 miles of offroad steady riding with lovely views. The light was fantastic, the sun was starting to sink lower in the sky and coupled with the first signs of autumn on the leaves it was beautiful. 

The turtle at the start of High Bank

It was a lovely trundle along High Bank and down the steeper section at the end where I tried really hard not to ride like a granny downhill. I headed back towards Eaglesfield and by now the sun was a big orange disc - amazing. Once in the village I did one of the earlier lanes the other way round - well why the hell not!. I called in briefly to see my parents where I scrounged some food and put on some extra layers for the razz home.

A lovely evening and a great way to build confidence -easy lanes with a little bit of something to push myself.

Me and the turtle checking out the final bit of lane